• With 2-1 result, the defending champion improves chances of a repeat crown.
• Hunter sits 10 points back in 450 title chase, with two rounds remaining.
• Third consecutive 250 overall podium result for Chance Hymas.

Round 9 of AMA Pro Motocross in Upstate New York proved to be an eventful one for Honda HRC Progressive. Hunter and Jett Lawrence traded 450 moto wins, but with Jett finishing second in the first outing and Hunter suffering an uncharacteristic DNF in moto 2, the brotherly championship battle took a dramatic turn, as Jett assumed the lead from his teammate. Meanwhile, Chance Hymas earned his third consecutive podium result, with 4-2 scores earning him third overall.

Hunter assumed the 450 moto 1 lead on lap 2, and Jett went down a few laps later while challenging Haiden Deegan for second. The reigning champ remounted in sixth while Hunter established a gap out front. Jett battled back to third position before the halfway mark, and demonstrated his exceptional fitness by closing the gap and passing Jorge Prado for second on the final lap.

Hunter grabbed the moto 2 holeshot aboard his CRF450RWE, while Jett and Prado battled behind him. Jett pressured Hunter and then passed him for the lead, with Prado also getting by shortly after. A little after the halfway mark, Hunter went down on Unadilla’s notoriously steep “Wall” section, and the lengthy climb back to his bike meant he remounted in 21^st place. Jett raced to the moto win, while Hunter—unable to continue at race pace due to crash damage to his bike—dropped out of a points-paying position and eventually pulled off. Jett’s overall win and Hunter’s eighth-overall result resulted in a 22-point swing in the title chase, with Jett now 10 points ahead of his brother.

After a second-place start in the first 250 moto, Hymas made a small mistake while challenging for the lead and dropped two positions. He eventually reached the checkered flag in fourth. The Idaho native bounced back in moto 2, managing second place from start to finish to secure third overall, determined to end the season strong.

NOTES

・On Friday, Honda HRC Progressive’s Chance Hymas participated in press-day activities at Unadilla, speaking with the media and riding on the track for the single 20-minute session.

・Unadilla marked the introduction of SMX Friday Live Presented by Honda on the SuperMotocross YouTube channel, with streaming coverage of press-day riding and the first Women’s Motocross Championship moto. (Moto 2 of WMX streamed live on Peacock on Saturday.) The Friday YouTube show will continue for the final two rounds.

・Binghamton Honda, a dealership located an hour south of the Unadilla track, staffed a pop-up booth in the Honda HRC Progressive pits, engaging with fans while showcasing a 2026 CRF450R and CRF50F.

・Between qualifying sessions, Honda HRC Progressive once again hosted a fan autograph session featuring all three active riders.

・Unadilla marked the return to racing for WMX after a long break since round 4 at High Point. Charli Cannon (Quad Lock Honda) finished second overall with a 2-2 result, while rookie Mayla Herrick (SLR Honda) rounded out the podium with a 4-3 tally. Herrick’s teammate Mikayla Nielsen experienced a misfortune and wasn’t able to finish moto 1. Nielsen crossed the moto 2 finish line in fifth, earning 14^th overall. Phoenix Honda Racing’s Tayla Jones finished 12^th overall with a 13-12 result. Cannon is second in the title chase, 20 points behind Lachlan Turner, and 32 points ahead of third place.

・Herrick was featured in a profile during Peacock’s Saturday coverage, highlighting her recent victory at the Loretta Lynn’s AMA Amateur Championship and her immediate impact on the WMX series.

・Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence topped both 450 qualifying sessions, with rare identical best lap times of 2:12.122. Teammate Hunter Lawrence posted the second-fastest lap time in combined qualifying. Quad Lock Honda’s Christian Craig was 21^st, SLR Honda’s Justin Rodbell was 29^th, Valley Motorsports’ Jeremy Hand was 31^st and SLR Honda’s Matti Jorgensen was 38^th. Lasting Impressions’ Ronnie Orres qualified 53^rd, Bloxom Racing’s Ashton Bloxom was 54^th and Feine Tune Racing’s Gavin Tilford was 73^rd.

・Hymas finished seventh in 250 combined qualifying. Quad Lock Honda riders Brodie Connolly and Alex Warwood were 15^th and 32^nd, respectively. Phoenix Racing Honda riders Cullin Park and Evan Ferry—both returning from injuries—were 24^th and 26^th, respectively, while their teammates Gavin Towers and Aden Keefer were 33^rd and 39^th. SLR Honda riders Caden Bradley and Alvin Hillan were 38^th and 42^nd, and McGinley Clinic’s Kyle Czworkowski was 72^nd.

・Jett remains undefeated in 450-class overall victories at Unadilla, with this marking his third success. Honda now holds the most premier-class overall wins at the track with 11, one more than Kawasaki. Other Red Riders to have topped the premier class at the venue include Mike LaRocco, Ricky Carmichael (twice), Kevin Windham (twice), Ken Roczen (twice) and Chase Sexton.

・Hunter’s moto 1 victory was his 10^th of the season, while moto 2 marked Jett’s eighth of the season.

・The penultimate round of AMA Pro Motocross will take place at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, this Saturday. Jett now leads the championship by 10 points over Hunter, with third place 66 points back. Meanwhile, Hymas is fifth in the 250 standings, just five points behind fourth and 20 behind third.

Jett Lawrence 18 “Today was really brutal. It was a bit of a struggle to get a flow and get good lines; everywhere was just choppy and had square edges. I like to win; I haven’t won a lot this year, so that’s pissing me off. But I still can’t be too terribly mad, just because of the injury that I have. I’m just going to try and keep looking forward and focus on what I need to do to get better. I didn’t want to get the red plate like this, so I’m kind of bummed, honestly. We still have two rounds to go, and Hunter’s been riding phenomenal lately, so we’ll see how it turns out. We’ll still be good as brothers—that will never change.”

Hunter Lawrence 96 “Cheers to motorsports, even if I personally hate it right now. I’m grateful to have a great team behind me and four more chances to make this happen.”

Jo Shimoda 30 Out with Injury

Chance Hymas 29 “It’s nice to see the progress, for sure; I feel like I’m back to being a consistent podium person. I’m building and making good progress, but I just keep making stupid mistakes in the middle of the motos. You just can’t be doing that when everyone’s already running the same times. It’s kind of frustrating, being that close and still feeling like I’m so far off, in a sense. Just wanting to be top-three in both motos on the weekend is my expectation. My goal right now is to hopefully get third in the championship. If I can keep knocking out some good starts, finishing where I’m finishing and minimizing the mistakes going forward, I think I can accomplish that goal.”

Lars Lindstrom Team Manager “It’s really cool seeing Chance get back to where he can and should be. We’ve worked really hard on the R&D side in the couple weeks off, trying to make a little bit more power, and we actually did bring an upgrade to this race. He got two good top-three starts, and then his speed was there. Hopefully we can get a win or two before the season ends. As far as the 450 class goes, we knew what Jett needed to do if he wanted to win the championship, and when he didn’t win the first moto, that set him back a little bit. Then when Hunter went down in moto 2 and we couldn’t see it, we were checking with the rest of the team over the radio, like, ‘Where’s he at?’ It was kind of gutting for everybody because he deserves it so much, and he was doing everything right; it just felt kind of unfair. I think the fire inside him will be even stronger for these last two rounds. Now he’s just got to win, and I’m pretty confident that he will be really motivated and hungry to come back and win next weekend.”